Sacred Tree
by MiyuTanemura
Summary: During a mission Gray falls ill and the team must do everything they can to help. They come across a hidden monastery and a lot of secrets. Will they be able to save Gray and solve the mysteries? Natsu/Gray


Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Nada. Zilch.

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Sacred Tree

The blue glow that the tiny lightbulb emitted filled the tiny room - which consisted of a small bed, a table that doubled as bedside table, a chair and a small chest that was by the door - bathing everything in a calming light.

No, not everything looked calm. One of the two room's inhabitants scoffed.

He was pacing restlessly on the tiny cubicle, like a caged beast. He did the same circuit over and over.

First he stood by the cot where the dark haired man, Gray, was lying, then he went to the window and headed to the door before returning to the prone form of his friend.

Natsu stood by Gray, looking helpless.

Gray lay sleeping. His skin was terribly pale, not even the blue light managed to disguise it, his breathing may be deep and calm, giving the impression of him _just_ being asleep, it didn't show how he was undergoing a desperate attempt at being healed.

Natsu clenched his fists, his teeth biting on his lower lip and his brow furrowed. He needed to do _something_ , not just pace in this damned room, unable to do anything. Inside he could feel his magic roaring, a crescendo that would explode sooner rather than later. The previous demonstration, that had happened soon after their arrival at the monastery, would pale in comparison.

No. He couldn't do that, allow that instinct that made him want to have things destroyed - they were collateral damage! - overtake him. Sure, Erza had admonished him and so had the Head Healer, which had had him doing a double take. They had been fortunate to get to this place, coming from dire conditions, and been more fortunate even for having such strong healers able to help them.

So.

That kind of left Natsu battling with himself, in order to remain in control instead of succumbing to the strangely strong violent haze of his magic.

Being near Gray, oddly, helped.

The dark haired's unconscious form was cleaned and lathered with ointments and a strong tea - way too pungent to Natsu's senses, even if he was standing by the door - slow and carefully given to him.

As the early hours of night passed by, the handful of healers had left the room, allowing for the rest of the team to enter the room. Erza, Lucy and Happy. They all looked wearily at Natsu and, yes, they did reflect the worry and tiredness he was feeling. Happy clung to Natsu's left arm in a wordless plea for comfort, which Natsu granted, hugging the cat and petting his soft fur calmly.

The friends stood by Gray's bed, a silent vigil.

"It would be best if we got some rest. We're not going to be of any help if we're falling asleep while trying to function." Erza said, after a while, in hushed tones.

"Of _any help_? You're kidding, right? We haven't done anything to help him and you're saying-' Natsu's voice raised a little, an uncharacteristic bitter tone colouring his words.

"Natsu. You're not helping!" Lucy hissed, grasping his right forearm.

"Don't you think I know that?" He hissed back. "And that's what I fucking hate, this helplessness."

"Neither of us likes it," Erza said reasonably. She paused to pinch the bridge of her nose before continuing. "It's really late. We _all_ better get some rest, alright?"

"Sure. Go ahead. I'll be here." Natsu replied, possessiveness coursing through him.

Lucy looked at Erza and rolled her eyes. 'Stubborn!' She couldn't help but think. However, seeing Erza's look she decided to take action.

"Okay, okay," she lifted her hands in a placating manner. "You're going to stay here with Gray and we'll be going." She calmly retrieved a very tired Happy from the pink haired man. "Maybe tomorrow we'll have more options."

"And no repeats of this afternoon, if you please, Natsu." Erza added with a sigh, though the command in her words was unmistakable.

"See you later Natsu," Were the final words exchanged while the team was leaving.

"'later." Natsu said, accompanying them to the door.

After they left he had tried to sit and sleep in the chair that was beside the bedside table, the weariness pulling at his bones demanded that. Alas, that proved impossible. He just couldn't let go and so he had started his circuit. Gray was immobile, the slow rise and fall of his chest was the only sign of life.

Natsu was tempted to reach out, brush away the strands of hair that were falling over his eyes, to hold his hand, punch and yell at Gray at the same time that he was being punched and yelled back at by him.

It was a certainty that, given their activity, they might end up dead but... they had managed to overcome everything thrown at them so far.

It wasn't fair that Gray went out due to... to a mistake, a distraction. Something that had seemed silly at first but became so much worse after.

Natsu headed to the window, crossing his arms and leaning against the window frame.

Outside, the world was still.

The night sky was clear, contrasting to the last few nights, allowing the two moons to fully cast their glow on the paved yard.

It wasn't anything much, a large space paved with large slabs of light coloured stone. From what he oversaw it was empty, just the area that was confined by a small wall that served as handrail and allowed one to look at the valley underneath. In the middle stood a large tree. Its trunk was large - the size of three bulky men standing side by side - and the wood was white. The branches were leafless and spread out to the sky, twisting, as if trying to reach out in pained yearning.

The two moons' movement made the shadows dance, throughout the night. It was a sorrowful movement, maybe not only due to Natsu projecting his feelings but also because of the echoes that came off the tree.

When they had gotten to the monastery they had heard, in passing, the story of the tree and its illness. At the moment Natsu hadn't paid conscious attention to the story but now that he was stuck in this room with Gray in this timeless night, he started making connections between stories. Apparently the tree had been cursed and odd happenings had occurred around it ever since, but the strange thing was how Natsu was making parallels between what he had heard and the reason to their presence in the area. Too many points seemed to be common with their mission.

Natsu strode to the door, then.

He paused, listened to what might be outside - or not - and returned to his friend.

This was madness.

Gray couldn't-

Gray _couldn't_ -

"Hurry up to get well, you stupid ice mage. You can't give up without a fight!" Natsu whispered. He took a deep breath and spoke in a stronger, louder voice. "Don't you just give up, you asshole."

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 **A/N:** So I have this fic started on my computer and it has been sitting there for too long and since apparently I never know when to stop, here's yet another fic.

Hm, hopefully the beginning is interesting enough. I do have a bunch of things planned for this (even if nothing is written down yet! OTL).

As usual, the story's unbetaed.

Feedback is always great!


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